STUDENT ALUMNI

Morgan Park

Internship at Rise Group (now Arcadis)

I honestly feel like I have grown up with ACE and truly believe I would not be where I am today, or who I am today without this program. I have had the opportunity to participate with ACE in various roles as a high school student, as a speaker at luncheons and as a mentor. During all levels of involvement it has been an inspiring experience to work directly with people that truly love what they do for a living and take the time out of their personal life to share their experience with others.

Currently I have dual roles at Turner Construction Company, locally as a Cost Engineer and nationally as part of the Service Desk (SVD) user support for our company software. As a Cost Engineer I am responsible for auditing the project budget to assure our project teams stay within policy and report project earnings to management. Through my role on the SVD I have the opportunity to interact with individuals from across the country to assist them with troubleshooting and system fixes when necessary.

Curie Metro

I am forever grateful for a program like ACE to exist. When you’re in high school there is so much pressure to select a college major, and I feel, thanks to ACE it filled in that blank for me and many ACE alums to answer that daunting question – am I sure this is the career I want?

Currently I am working at GreenbergFarrow as a Site Development Coordinator

High School
Morgan Park

ACE Award
Undergraduate scholarship

What ACE Means to Me
ACE gave me the opportunity to peer into the real world of building and understanding how teams need to cooperate on projects in order to build successfully. Everyone plays an important role. There’s no better way to learn about something than to be able to get hands-on experience. By allowing us (students) to work side-by-side with professionals in the fields of architecture, construction and engineering it gives students interested in these areas of study a great stepping stone. That’s what it did for me.

Where I Am Now
I am currently a Project Estimator/Project Manager at Thorne Associates, Inc. We are one of the top drywall contractors in the city. I’ve been here 8 years now. I started as an intern while in my 4th year of Architecture school at the Illinois Institute of Technology. My job entails thoroughly reviewing bid documents including drawings, specifications etc. for all types of projects from condominiums, hospitals, retail, etc. If we are the successful bidder, I then take on the role of Project Manager for duration of the project.

High School
Curie

ACE Awards
Undergraduate scholarship,
winner of Eli W. Cohen scholarship

What ACE Means to Me
Having participated in the ACE program for two years, it reinforced my decision in becoming an engineer. I saw what great passion the mentors showed in teaching us about the various techniques of design and got to work on some really aspiring projects and thus decided to obtain a degree as an Architectural Engineer. In the future having finished my Master’s Degree, I would like to volunteer and be an ACE mentor. Now that I have some experience under my belt I feel that I could be a model to young people and let them see that it is possible to become an engineer.

Where I Am Now
I attended the Illinois Institute of Technology and received my Bachelor’s Degree in Architectural Engineering. I graduated from IIT in 2012 and immediately found a job as a Mechanical Engineer for WMA Consulting Engineers. After working at WMA for a year, I decided to return to IIT and I am now pursuing my Master’s Degree in Architectural Engineering while continuing to work at WMA.

High School
Lane Tech

ACE Award
Internship at GSA

What ACE Means to Me
ACE is a stepping stone to a higher learning. Not only does it inform high school students of the many possible careers in the industry, it also teaches students how to behave and act with professionalism.

Where I Am Now
As a federal employee of one of the largest agencies in the US government, I have been blessed to work in a wide range of projects in design and construction. Everything from building engineering reports to building information modeling. I also continue to support the ACE Mentor

High School Whitney Young

ACE Awards
Undergraduate scholarship, Design Build scholarship while serving as a Teaching Assistant

What ACE Means to Me
ACE Mentor Chicago has been the strongest building block of my passion for architecture. I have always been inspired by the program to explore the design world: first as a student and now, coming full circle, as a mentor.

Where I Am Now
Since graduating in May of 2013 from Kent State University, I have worked at the architectural and historic preservation firm, AltusWorks. This specialized firm has taught me about the architectural process and the inner workings of existing buildings. It has been exciting to work on rehabilitation projects ranging from elementary schools to CTA train stations and historic projects of many kinds. Outside of work, I have returned to ACE as a mentor with Team 2; it is invigorating to be on the other side of the equation! I am an active alumni to my University, specifically the College of Architecture and Environmental Design as I work with college administration to create a more solid design and architecture alumni presence here in Chicago.